Many internal combustion engines that are currently in use are based on engineering compromises between performance of the engine and additional constraints such as surrounding non-engine components. Such additional constraints many times cause such compromises to affect the performance of the engine since it is perceived that there is not sufficient room for more optimal configurations. Thus, more compact design of various engine components or assemblies is beneficial, particularly if such designs allow greater optimization of engine performance within substantially the same space constraints that the engine would occupy otherwise.
In many internal combustion engines, their performance can be substantially enhanced by reconfiguring the engine head assembly so that, for example, intake and exhaust valve angles are reoriented and the combustion chamber is reconfigured to provide higher compression ratios and greater homogeneity or atomization within the fuel mixtures provided to such engines. Further, it can be desirable to reconfigure the intake and exhaust ports to the cylinders of such engines so that there is both a decrease in flow impeding bends within the ports, and optionally, appropriate contours to at least the input port so that this contour facilitates mixing the fuel and air together prior to entering a cylinder for combustion. Thus, it would be advantageous to have a novel internal combustion engine head that performed such enhancements to internal combustion engines currently in use. In particular, it would be advantageous to have such an internal combustion engine head assembly for Harley-Davidson Sportster and Big Twin motorcycles since these motorcycles are extremely popular and may be able to benefit greatly from a redesigned engine head assembly.